DIY Shed Construction

A shed can be big and elaborate, set on a concrete slab foundation, or small and portable.

Building a shed is a way to get clutter out of the garage or basement and into a storage area. A shed provides space for lawn mowers, yard tools, outdoor cookers and supplies, bicycles or anything else that a homeowner wants out of the way but easily accessible. Sheds can be big and elaborate, set on concrete slab foundations, or small and portable. An 8-by-12-ft. shed is a good basic shed that a homeowner can build with some carpentry skill and tools. Always check local building regulations for permit requirements or restrictions on sheds.

Things You'll Need

• Rake
• 2-by-4-inch pressure-treated framing lumber
• Hammer
• Framing nails
• Tape measure
• 4-inch solid concrete blocks
• Level
• Joist hangers
• 3/4-inch pressure-treated plywood
• 1 1/2-inch nails
• Circular saw
• Framing square
• Metal gussets
• Hurricane clips
• Oriented strand board (OSB)
• Roofing paper
• Construction stapler
• Shingles with caps
• Utility knife or big shears
• 4-by-8-ft. pressure-treated plywood
• 1-by-4-inch trim boards
• 1-by-2-inch batten boards
• Pre-hung door
• Wood shims
• Long screws
• Screw gun

Instructions

1. Locate the shed in a flat area with solid soil and good drainage, with no standing water or runoff areas. Check it for tree roots, big rocks and any underground utilities. Rake the area clear of leaves and other debris; get it as level as possible.

2. Build a floor frame of pressure-treated 2-by-4-inch framing lumber. Make the two ends 8 ft., the two sides 11 ft., 9 inches. Nail the corners together, with the 2-inch faces up, with framing nails and a hammer. Use a framing square to square the corners, then test the squareness by measuring corner to corner with a tape measure and adjusting the sides until those dimensions are equal.

3. Lay the frame into the desired shed location. Set three rows of 4-inch-thick solid concrete blocks under it, a block on each corner, in the center of each wall and in the center of the shed, aligned with the long side of the shed. Set a 12-ft.-long 2-by-4 on the frame with a 4-ft. level on it. Adjust the earth under the blocks until the frame is level in all directions.

4. Remove the frame from the blocks and install joists between the long sides, spaced 24 inches apart. Cut 8-ft. 2-by-4's down to 7 ft., 9 inches to fit between the side bands. Use metal hangers, brackets nailed to the side bands to hold the joists, which are nailed in through holes in the bracket sides. Place this floor frame on the blocks. Test it with the level, and adjust blocks as needed.

5. Floor the frame with 3/4-inch pressure-treated plywood, with the top grain running across the rafters. Use three 4-by-8-ft. panels, two full sheets installed at opposite ends and the third sheet cut in two with a circular saw to fill the gaps. Fasten the plywood with 1 1/2-inch nails.

6. Build four walls, starting with frames of the top and bottom plates and end studs. Use 8-ft. plates on the end walls, plates cut to 11 ft., 9 inches for side walls. Square the corners of the wall frames and add interior studs 16 inches apart. Frame a door in one end wall, with a 2-by-6-inch header board nailed between two studs and supported with shorter studs from the bottom of the header to the bottom plate. Add short studs 16 inches apart between the top of the header and the top plate. Cut off the bottom plate inside the door opening.

7. Set the walls in place one at a time. Brace them with boards nailed to studs and set them in the ground outside. Use a level to get them plumb and nail them with framing nails to the floor. Nail studs together at the corners. Tie the walls together with cap boards, 2-by-4's on the top plate, 12 ft. long on side walls and 7 ft., 5 inches on end walls to fit between side caps. Remove the temporary braces.

8. Make five roof trusses. Cut rafters to a 4/12 pitch -- a slope of 4 inches per foot -- using a framing square. Set the point of the square at the bottom of one end of a 2-by-4. Align the 4-inch mark on the thin tongue and the 12-inch mark on the wide blade at the top of the board, and mark the angle on the side of the tongue. This is a top or plumb cut.

9. Mark a point 50 1/2 inches down the rafter. Make a triangle, 1 inch up into the board at that point to 3 1/2 inches back up the bottom of the board. This is a bearing point notch, or "bird's mouth," that will fit on top of the wall cap. Add 12 inches for an eave overhang and draw another angle, the reverse of the plumb cut, putting the point of the square at the top of the rafter. Cut 16 rafters with those angles.

10. Place a pair of rafters on a driveway or other level surface with the plumb cuts together. Secure that joint with a metal gusset, a steel plate with spikes and holes for nails. Drive the spikes into the rafters with a hammer, then add 1 1/2-inch nails through all holes in the gusset, on both rafters. Lay a 2-by-4 under the rafters 8 inches below the bottom of the peak, and mark its ends with the rafter angles. Cut those angles and install that cross tie with gussets on each rafter. Turn the truss over and add gussets on the other side.

11. Build four more trusses the same way. Set the trusses on the roof one at a time. Get them plumb with a level and nail them to the wall caps through the bird's mouth on each side. Secure the trusses with "hurricane clips," metal brackets that connect the trusses and the wall caps.

12. Install oriented strand board, or OSB, sheathing on the truss tops. Nail panels to the trusses, cutting panels to fit with a circular saw. Spread roofing paper over the OSB and fasten it with a construction stapler. Nail on asphalt shingles with shingle nails. Cut the tabs off a set of shingles with a utility knife or big shears and nail a first row upside down with the cut edge up, then add shingles to the peak. Cover the peak with cap shingles.

13. Use 4-by-8-ft. pressure-treated plywood to cover the walls. Put three panels vertically on each side wall, two panels on each end wall. Cut out the door opening with a reciprocal saw after the plywood is installed. Measure and cut the plywood to fit the gable ends on each end. Mark the top angles first, then cut the ends square to fit.

14. Nail 1-by-4-inch trim boards on all corners and at all wall/roof connections. Miter the tops of the upper corner trim. Add 1-by-2-inch batten boards over all vertical plywood seams; cut these to fit between the roof trim boards. Install a pre-hung door. Set its frame in the opening, square and level it with tapered wood shims, and fasten it with long screws driven with a screw gun through the sides and top.

References

• Handyman: Storage Shed Foundations
• Secrets of Shed Building: Building a Shed
• Shed King: How to Build a Shed Roof
• "Popular Mechanics"; "5 Secrets to Building a Better Shed"; Joseph Truini; 2011
• Shed Floors: Floating Foundation
• Just Sheds: Shed Construction Guide